News Releases

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sept. 12, 2015) -

Editors Note: There are two photos associated with this press release.

Team Brazil was crowned champions today at the 2015 BMO Nations' Cup - one of the richest team show-jumping competitions in the world. The nation's riders were led by Chef d'Equipe, Jean-Maurice Bonneau.

Eight of the best show-jumping teams in the world - each with four members selected by their national federations to represent their country - competed for the prestigious championship title at the BMO Nations' Cup at Spruce Meadows. The course was designed by Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela, and featured 15 jumping efforts, covering 520 metres, with a time allotment of 78 seconds.

"We are very proud to celebrate our long standing partnership of 40 years with Spruce Meadows," Frank Techar, Chief Operating Officer, BMO Financial Group. "Once again, the BMO Nations' Cup showcased an exciting world-class team show jumping event, with great performances by each of the eight nations competing today."

It was a grand finish for Brazil, host country to the upcoming 2016 Olympic Summer Games. Team members Pedro Veniss, Felipe Amaral, Eduardo Menezes battled with veteran anchor rider Rodrigo Pessoa to represented Team Brazil for the first time in Spruce Meadows Nations' Cup history. Lead by Chef d'Equipe, Jean-Maurice Bonneau, Brazil pulled out a true clutch performance, finishing on a required clear round by Rodrigo Pessoa, solidifying a total of 13 faults over second place finishers - Team France with a 16 fault total.

Final Results

1. Team Brazil 13 Fault Total
2. Team France 16 Fault Total
3. Team Canada 24 Fault Total
4. Team USA 28 Fault Total
5. Team Switzerland 30 Fault Total
6. Team Belgium 32 Fault Total
7. Team Great Britain Did not Qualify for Round II
8. Team Netherlands Did not Qualify for Round II

About Nations' Cup

The BMO Nations' Cup is the only competition in which nations are represented by selected teams. Teams from participating countries may consist of three or four riders, and are led by a Chef d'Equipe. Each member of each team will jump one round over a course of 12 obstacles. The best three scores from each team are added together for a first round total.

The top six teams return in reverse order of standing to jump the identical course in the second round. Again, the three best scores for each team are added to the first round total to determine the ultimate winner. In the case of equality of penalties for first place, the Chef d'Equipe selects a single team member to jump off.

About BMO and the Equestrian Community

As the founding sponsor of Spruce Meadows, BMO Financial Group has a long and proud history of supporting equestrian sport in Canada. This is the 39^th year that BMO has sponsored the BMO Nations' Cup at Spruce Meadows, attracting the top international show jumping teams to compete in Canada. In addition, BMO has proudly sponsored Canadian Equestrian Team member and Olympic record holder, Ian Millar, for more than 25 years.

For a tournament schedule visit the Spruce Meadows website at www.sprucemeadows.com.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/84tbl5i0p459nv4/AAAaRCeMrTrouMh4-wBcGPHWa?dl=0